Chapter Six: Carl Rogers and Person-Centered Theory

Biographical Information: Carl Rogers Born in 1902, 4th of 6 children to a farm

family in Illinois Religion was central in the family Traveled to China, had a significant change

of view

Historical Context

Watson’s Behaviorism Otto Rank, Elizabeth Davis play central

roles Influenced by John Dewey Struggled with Psychiatry and Psychology Respected Gadfly—Boundary stretcher Person-centered philosophy emerges

Theoretical Principles

Theory of personality:– Self-theory– Value of experience– Learning and growth potential– Conditions of worth

Theory of Psychopathology

Failure to learn from experience

Failure to let go of limiting parental introjects

Theory of Psychotherapy

Therapist must trust the client Therapist must establish a certain type of

relationship

Core Conditions

Congruence

Unconditional Positive Regard

Accurate Empathy

The Practice of Person-Centered Therapy Preparing yourself

Preparing your client

Opening statement

Assessment Issues

Specific Therapy Techniques

Experiencing and expressing congruence Experiencing and expressing unconditional

positive regard Experiencing and expressing empathic

understanding

Extended Case Example

Carl Rogers interviews

Mrs. PS.

Therapy Outcomes Research

Rogers as first “scientist-practitioner” Some researchers indicate that person-

centered not as effective as more structured therapies—but is more effective than placebo.

Possible that lack of understanding of theory/therapy contributes to research problems.

Multicultural Perspective

Culturally sensitive? Lacking in directiveness? Example of Rogers’ ventures into a bit of

Eastern philosophy

Concluding Comments

Rogers and relationship—a central, abiding tenet

Student Review Assignments

Critical corner Reviewing key terms Review questions

Critical Corner At the core of person centered theory is the concept of

trusting the individual. Theoretically, if an individual receives that special relationship Rogers speaks of then he or she will move naturally toward self-actualization. Basically, there are two problems with this assumption. First, it’s impossible for individuals to have such an ideal environment all the time and so even if everyone had this inherent actualizing tendency, it would constantly be thwarted by real relationships in the real world. Second, with all the hate, prejudice, and evil in the world today, the evidence is certainly not in support of Rogers’ rose-colored theory.

Critical Corner (continued)

Rogers typically saw clients for 50 or more therapy sessions. This snail’s pace of change is simply unacceptable in today’s economy and with the needs of the modern client. How can person centered therapy be practical when it takes so long to establish that special type of relationship and healing environment?

Critical Corner (continued)

Often cognitive and behavioral researchers use “nondirective” therapy as a control group or placebo condition to which they compare the efficacy of their therapeutic techniques. If researchers are just using this form of therapy as something equivalent to a placebo treatment, how can we justify using it as a real treatment with real people in the real world?

Critical Corner (continued)

Traditional psychoanalytic forms of therapy have “making the unconscious conscious” or “insight” as their primary therapy goal. Some critics claim there is no scientific evidence of the unconscious. Where do you stand on this issue? Are there unconscious processes that affect interpersonal relationships?

Critical Corner (continued)

If all people need to recover from their suffering is a kind and loving relationship, then why go to graduate school. Couldn’t we just train legions of volunteers to display a saintly-like loving attitude and a lot of patience and thereby eradicate all suffering in our lifetime?

Critical Corner (continued)

Person centered therapy is fine for the worried well who enjoy and can benefit from examining themselves in perpetuity. But when it comes to treating people who have clear behavioral skills deficits or who are suffering from some sort of oppression, a more directive and problem-solving approach is necessary.

Reviewing Key Terms

Organism Self Incongruence Actualizing or formative tendency Positive regard Self-regard Subception

Key Terms (continued)

Psychological contact Congruence Unconditional Positive Regard Empathic Understanding Intellectual empathy Emotional empathy Imaginative empathy

Key Terms (continued)

Traditional person-centered therapy Contemporary person-centered therapy Process-experiential psychotherapy Motivational interviewing The child’s game or special time

Review Questions

1. What innovative procedure did Rogers introduce to the study of psychotherapy that causes some historians to refer to him as the first modern psychotherapy researcher?

2.  From the person-centered perspective, what is the main cause of psychopathology and what is the main characteristic of psychopathology?

Review Questions

What is the empathy question and what might be its uses and limits in helping therapists have empathy with their clients?

What are the dangers and benefits of experiencing and expressing congruence during therapy?

What is the person-centered perspective with regard to psychological assessment?

Review Questions

What is the empathy question and what might be its uses and limits in helping therapists have empathy with their clients?

What are the dangers and benefits of experiencing and expressing congruence during therapy?

What is the person-centered perspective with regard to psychological assessment?